A study published in The Lancet medical journal has found that using hearing aids to treat hearing loss could lower the risk of dementia.

Researchers who tracked 437,000 patients say they observed that untreated hearing loss had a far greater association with dementia than factors such as depression and loneliness.

Treatment with hearing aids lowered the risk of dementia to levels similar to people without hearing loss, according to the researchers.

Other research recently highlighted in Harvard Men’s Health found that keeping one’s blood pressure at a level below 120 over 80 can also reduce dementia risk.

The research shows that some common medications prescribed to help lower blood pressure decrease the likelihood of individuals developing dementia. Experts say this may be because the drugs designed to relax veins and arteries also help blood flow to the brain, which prevents plaque buildup.